Operation: PROTECT
by Numbuh 1990
Summary: It's Rachel's 13th birthday and the only other person who knows is Fanny. Attempting to escape the horrors the decommissioning process she runs right into the Chief herself. Will Fanny let the one she cares about the most run away? Or will she follow the rules. 362x86, rated K but is subject to change later on.
1. Lost Leader

**A/N: This fanfic is 362x86 centric, if you're not a fan of the pairing or are against femslash turn back now!**

**... Oh you're okay with it? Then enjoy!**

**Side note: I had inspiration from tigertutu's "Just this once". It's good to see more people writing and supporting this pairing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the KND and I never will. Although if I did, 362x86 would be a cannon pairing.**

* * *

**Now loading . . .**

**Operation: P.R.O.T.E.C.T.**

Protecting

Rachel

Often

Takes

Extreme

Cautionary

Tactics

The corridors of the Moon Base were quiet. The silence was almost eerie and yet somehow felt refreshing. It was almost sunrise now and soon the residents of the Moon Base would begin to wake and take on their daily tasks. However, for one operative this would not be the case. Today would change her life forever and the mere thought of his made her fists clench. She didn't want to be decommissioned, she wanted to keep her legacy going. But unfortunately, she cannot stop her body from aging and time from moving forward. Awake she lay in her bed as the sun slowly crept through her window. _'I'll run away...'_ she thought to herself. _'If I run they can't make me forget all the work I've done and the people I've grown to love...' _ And so at 0700 hours, she would run away. She didn't know where, but so long as she got away she would be able to keep her memories of the Kids Next Door and someday come back for her friends.

Her name was Rachel T. McKenzie, aka The Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door and today was her 13th birthday.

Rachel sat up quietly and made her way to the door. On the other side was the head of decommissioning, her second in command, Fanny Fulbright aka Numbuh 86. They met with a mild thud. They slowly rose to their feet which was met with an awkward silence. Fanny broke it.

"You're tryna'ta run away aren't you sir? After all today is your birthday..." She said in a low almost inaudible tone. Rachel widened her eyes in shock and remained silent. She couldn't manage to bring her eyes to meet Fanny's and this only upset her further. She felt an arm on her shoulder.

"Just go, I won't try'ta stop yeh." Fanny sighed lightly. "I care about yah too much to allow this to happen." Rachel's eyes shot up suddenly.

"So it seems you know me too well Francine, thank you. I promise I will come back for you." She slipped off her orange striped sweater and handed it to her. "Take this, and never forget what I've done for you, for everyone." And with that she slipped into what was left of the darkness. Fanny stood watching as Rachel's shadow fade away, a single tear rolling down her cheek. She slipped the orange sweater over her forest green one and headed to the main hall, knowing what needed to be done next. An alarm of emergency could soon be heard throughout the entire Moon Base.

Within minutes every operative gathered in the main hall. They were in a confused and somewhat dazed state as the alarm had broken them from their sleep. Numbuh 86 walked up onto the stage to address her fellow operatives.

"The reason I've called yah all here is because as certain someone has gone missin'." The crowd of operatives began to whisper amongst themselves. She hushed them. "Numbuh 362 has been presumed missing in action and is no where to be found. I have deployed operatives to search for her and I will take over as the Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door until she is returned to us." Gasps soon filled the main hall. A certain bald operative stood up.

"86 You can't be serious right?" He said with a thick British accent. "This is just some sort of cruel joke isn't it..." She remained silent confirming that this was indeed no joke. The bald boy soon found himself leaping over hundreds of kids to the nearest exit. Numbuh 86 sighed to herself and addressed the crowd of operatives once again.

"She couldn't have gotten too far... I'm sure our scouts will spot her soon." she said reassuringly. But she was wrong. The scouts would never find Numbuh 362 because she never deployed them to begin with. She let her run, plain and simple. "Now all of yah get back to yer jobs. Just because Numbuh 362 is gone doesn't mean yah can lollygag about." Amidst the crowds of dispersing kids sat the rest of Sector V. The group remained a little shell shocked at the events that were unfolding, expect for Numbuh 5.

"Numbuh 362...gone?" Numbuh 2 said still taken aback at the situation. "Why would she just leave like that?" Next to him sat Numbuh 3 who was bawling her eyes out over Numbuh 362's disappearance. Numbuh 4 sat beside her, attempting to comfort her and failing. Numbuh 5 sat quietly to herself thinking the situation over. Overreacting wasn't exactly a part of her personality.

"Numbuh 5 thinks something's a bit fishy here..." She said suddenly.

"What makes you say that?" Numbuh 2 asked.

"Did any of you happen to notice what our new 'Supreme Leader' was wearing?"

Numbuh 4 suddenly shot his head up. "Oooh oooh! It was her helmet right?" his Australian accent as heavy as ever.

"No ya fool! Her shirt! She was wearing Numbuh 362's striped sweater!" Her teammates gasped. She was right.

"How do you suppose she got a hold of it?" Numbuh 2 questioned.

"Maybe she and Numbuh 362 had a slumber party!" Numbuh 3 said in a cheery tone.

Numbuh 4 eyed her. "What kind of cruddy slumber party has girls that swap their clothes?"

"None that Numbuh 5 knows of. No...there's something Numbuh 86 isn't telling us. You guys head back to the tree house. I'm gonna have a little chat with our new leader."

"What about Numbuh 1?" Numbuh 4 pointed out.

"Don't worry about him. He'll be fine. After all, once that boys heart is set on something, there's really no stopping him."

* * *

Fanny sat quietly in what was once Rachel's room. She was the Supreme Leader now and needless to say the thought made her uneasy. She knew she was unfit for the job, but for the time being she would have to buck up and take on the responsibility. Her train of thought was interrupted by knocking on her door. She opened to find an out of breath Numbuh 60 on the other side.

"Patton...what are yah doin' here?"

"I came as soon as I got the emergency distress signal. What in the name of Zero is going on Fanny? You got a lotta nerve to be pushing that thing so early in the morning."

"It's about Rachel Patton. Do you know what today is?" Patton sat himself down in a stray chair and took off his cap.

"Yeah, it's the 1st of August. Why?" He had clearly forgotten her birthday. After thinking for a moment his memory suddenly returned. "It's... her...!"

"Thirteenth birthday? It sure as heck is. She's gone Patton...I let her run away."

"You what?!" he said sitting up in his chair.

"I let her run away. I caught her early this morning trying to make a run for it and I just...let her go. She promised she'd come back for me, for us, once things calmed down." Patton remained silent for a few minutes absorbing the situation at hand, thoughts racing through his head.

"So who's the new Supreme Leader?" He managed to say after awhile. Fanny pointed to the orange striped sweater she was wearing and he nodded. "I see..." he sighed. "Do you have any idea where she might be heading to?"

"I have no clue..." They were silent for some time again. Fanny pulled up a chair beside him. "I know the both of yah are close, heck all three of us are, but she promised she'd come back for us. I don't doubt her for a second." Patton put his cap on and readjusted it.

"I'm going after her." He said suddenly as he started to head towards the door. An arm reached out to stop him.

"Don't bother...Nigel left the moment I announced she was gone."

"Figures. Who does he think he is going after her like that? He doesn't know her like we do..." He was gritting his teeth. Patton wasn't very fond of Nigel Uno, and oddly enough that was something he and Fanny had in common.

"Let him go. He'll never find her."

"You're right. Is there anything else I can do while I'm here?" He said sitting back down beside her.

Fanny waved a hand at him "Neh, yeh've already done enough by being here for me."

"Well good luck Francine, I mean, Supreme Leader ma'am."He said with a smile only to have Fanny shoot him an annoyed look. Patton showed himself out unaware that Numbuh 5 had been listening in on their conversation the entire time. She slowly watched him disappear before making her move towards the door. She peered through the other side to see Fanny laying on her stomach.

"Everything okay boss?" She said as she opened the door. Fanny's head shot up suddenly upon hearing her voice.

"N-Numbuh 5, how long have you been here?"

"Long enough to hear you tell everything to Numbuh 60. There's more to this than you're letting him know, isn't there?

"I can't tell yeh, she's already in enough danger as it is." Numbuh 5 took off her cap and sat beside Fanny. She wasn't going to pass any kind of judgment, no matter how dire the situation was, and it was pretty dire.

"Abby ain't gonna tell anyone, she promises." Fanny sighed and took off Rachel's striped sweater and set it beside the both of them. Her eyes were beginning to tear up.

"And why should I trust yah? It's not like we're friends or something."

"Would you rather tell Numbuh 5? Or some boy." Fanny picked up on her last statement but gave in anyway. For some reason she felt she could trust her. She began to feel her anxiety acting up as she fiddled with her hands.

"Ah alright... I'll tell yah. I let her escape her decommissioning because..." She went silent for a moment, barely able to contain herself as she muttered words she'd never thought she'd say aloud. "Because I'm in love with her." The air around them became slightly awkward and Abby remained silent. She wasn't surprised at all, not even a little bit. She always knew there was something 'off' about Fanny and now she knew what.

"Well Abby thinks that's a good enough reason to let her run. However both of your actions have put the entire organization in jeopardy. "

"Yah think I don't know that?!" She was becoming a bit frantic now, her mind hitting full realization as to what was actually happening. "I'm not fit to be the Supreme Leader Abby. I don't have the right training, I'm not smart enough." Abby placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you want me to take over while you go search for Numbuh 362?" Fanny remained silent for a moment.

"You'd do that for me? But I thought you hated me."

"In the end we're all just brothers and sisters in arms, right?"

"Sisters maybe, but certainly not brothers." Abby chuckled a little at the Irish girl. Her female superiority complex over boys wasn't one of her greatest attributes but at times she found it to be quite amusing.

"But if I leave, who will run the organization?"

"I'll handle all of that. Don't you worry. Just go and find Numbuh 362."

"She's just Rachel now remember..."

"Right...Rachel. Good luck chief, don't worry about things here. Everyone is in good hands." Abby smiled at her and for the first time Fanny genuinely smiled back. Abby watched as the Irish girl bolted out of the room and disappeared into the corridor_. 'How am I gonna tell the others I'm running the show now.'_ she thought to herself. It wouldn't be easy, but for Fanny and Rachel's sake she'd keep her word. Abby slowly closed the door behind her as she made her way to the main hall. This was turning out to be one heck of day.

* * *

And that's it for Chapter 1! R&R please :)

**A/N: I wanted to give Fanny a softer more sensitive side instead of her typical Tsundere'ish tendencies. I also think if written properly this side of her can be quite powerful. **

**As for her interaction with Numbuh 5 well...let's just say "There are times to fight among each other, and times to fight for each other."**

See you in Chapter 2.


	2. A Series of Unfortunate Events

**Chapter 2: A Series of Unfortunate Events**

The air around her was quiet, and uneasy. The stress of the situation was really taking its toll on her mind and at times she just wanted to collapse and drift away. She didn't know where she was going, or where she even was. All she knew is that she escaped and her memories were still intact, but for how long? It was only a matter of time before the rest of the Moon Base and, eventually the entire organization, realized she was missing and would start searching for her. She couldn't take it anymore. Her consciousness was slipping, body and mind barely being able to hold on. Collapsing in the seat of her aircraft, everything around her began to spin out of control. The sound of the blaring alarms soon faded away and she felt herself falling for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, everything went black.

A few miles away a tree house could be seen poking through the misty swamp land below it. It's eerie exterior gave it a sort of haunting atmosphere. It's clear the sector in charge wasn't very responsible at keeping it up to date, but when you're stationed in the middle of a swamp with nothing around you for miles, what do you expect?

The inside didn't fare much better either. Random miscellaneous items could be seen scattered about, as well as piles of trash. Across from the debriefing room were three doors labeled 78, 34, and 42. 78 belong to the Sector Leader, Numbuh 78, or Angelie to her friends. She had chosen today to sleep in and didn't want to be bothered. Her teammates, Numbuh's 42 and 34, could be seen in the lounge area playing a game of Yipper. This was a routine thing for them whenever the boss decided to sleep in, which now-a-days was quite often. They didn't get many mission assignments from the Moon Base anymore, and often wondered if anyone knew they were still alive. They were Sector X, and to everyone else they sector with the least amount of mission successes in the entire organization.

It was nearing noon now and Numbuh's 42 and 34 were locked in a game of Yipper that seemed to be lasting a life time.

"Your turn Ted." Numbuh 34 said flatly. Ted eyed his cards carefully before placing down his trump card. He may have stolen rare cards from the nerds in the past but that didn't mean he knew how to use them. Charles on the other hand, was a much more refined player.

"I play Galactic Arm Cannon! Giving me +9 to my entire squadron."Or maybe he knew just what he was doing after all. Charles winced, knowing there wasn't enough options left to stage a comeback. It wasn't too often that Ted pulled such a rare card towards the end of the game. He looked over his hand and decided enough was enough.

"Alright Ted, I'll give you this one. I have to admit you're certainly getting better. Where did you get that card anyway?" Ted smiled nervously and Charles sighed. "Forget I asked. But I better not wake up in the middle of the night to another nerd zombie invasion, understand?"

"Y-Yes sir, loud and clear!" He said saluting. The ground suddenly began to shake, causing the boys to fall to their knees. A few moments later a door flew wide open, and out jumped the panic-stricken leader of Sector X.

"What in the name of Zero was that?!" She shouted half awake.

"It's nice to see you too boss." Ted groaned.

"Get up you two! We have to go investigate!"

"Are you crazy Angelie? Have you not seen the weather today? It's like eleventy-buhmillion degrees outside!" It may only be the beginning of August, but down in Sector X it's still hot. Very hot.

"I wouldn't care if the earth was hurdling towards the sun Ted, get out there with Charles and see what just shook the ground! I'll join you both shortly." The two boys saluted her and rushed out into the boiling hot humid swamp. About a mile away lay an aircraft that had smashed forcefully into the muck. As the boys approached it they noticed the silhouette of someone inside.

"Holy crud, someone's still inside that thing!"

"Let me handle it." Charles was a fairly muscular kid for his age, and by far much stronger than most operatives. This made him extremely helpful in situations that dealt with rescues. He lifted the latch and released the windshield only to find an unconscious Numbuh 362 on the other side.

"T-this is..." Ted began to stutter.

"...The Supreme Leader? What's she doing here?" Footsteps could be heard behind them and soon Angelie joined the them.

"What's going on you two? Did you find anything?"

"Take a look for yourself..." Ted said heavyhearted.

"The Supreme Leader?! How...what...why?" She was at a loss for words. She took a moment to clear her head. "Alright, we need to get her to the infirmary stat!" The boys nodded and Charles carefully picked up the unconscious girl.

"We need to contact the Moon Base!" Ted said suddenly.

"That's going to have to wait. She's in critical condition and needs treatment immediately. Before we contact anyone we need to make sure that she's going to live first." Angelie's expression became stern, and Ted chuckled nervously to himself.

* * *

At the infirmary lay Numbuh 362 under the care of Numbuh 78. She may be the leader of Sector X but before her promotion she spent some time in the Med Unit. Charles and Ted sat at a table a few feet away watching her run tests. The two boys could feel the level of stress radiating off of her, making this whole situation even more unpleasant. They were hesitant to even say a word, as their leader ran with an extremely short temper these days.

After awhile the silence finally got to Ted. "Is she going to be okay Angelie?" She was a bit reluctant to answer him at first. She let out a heavy sigh.

"All of the tests are coming back positive. She's alive, but barely. Her body appears to be in a coma-like state."

"Should we contact the Moon Base's emergency communication channel?"

"I still say we should wait a bit, but if you want to go ahead. Let me know if you can even get through, because as far as I know we're a joke to those guys." She scoffed to herself. When she was assigned to Sector X three years ago she thought it was going to be the highlight of her career. Instead she got stuck with an obsessive-compulsive card-collecting nerd and a boy twice his size wearing a barrel as protective armor.

"You know boss, would it kill ya to look on the bright side for once?"

"Have you seen where we live Ted? There is nothing 'bright' about this place." she snapped back. Charles was getting agitated at the senseless bickering between the two. Without saying a word, he picked up Ted and carried him out of the room.

Outside, the two boys sat together in the lounge area awaiting further news from Angelie about Numbuh 362's condition. Charles sat across from Ted re-arranging his Yipper deck while Ted fumbled about with his communicator.

"I thought you were going to connect to the Moon Base's emergency communication channel?" Charles said without looking up. Ted didn't answer, he seemed to be lost in thought. "Ted?"

"Huh? Oh sorry big guy, I was just thinking about something."

"I'm listening."

"What if she really isn't Numbuh 362, I mean, what if it's a spy sent by the Teen Ninjas?" Charles hadn't considered the possibility of something like that. Besides, who would want to spy on a couple of kids living in the middle of swamp land?

"Don't silly, of course she's the real Numbuh 362. Stop messin' around and call them already."

"You do it. I get phone anxiety..." The larger boy rolled his eyes and took the communicator. He adjusted the frequencies and the channel was filled with nothing but static.

"This is Sector X broadcasting an emergency distress transmission. If anyone can hear me, please respond. Once again this is Sector X broadcasting an emergency distress transmission." There was no response. Just as Charles was about to repeat himself again, someone answered.

"This is Numbuh 86, Chief of Decommissioning. State the nature of your emergency." Her voice faded in and out over the static.

"This is Numbuh 34 of Sector X. We have the Supreme Leader in our custody, she is in critical condition and in need of extreme medical attention. " At first there was no response. Perhaps the frequency went dead?

"I have yer coordinates, I will be there shortly..." Static filled the channel and the boys were silent. They exchanged quick looks and let out a sigh.

* * *

Back at the infirmary Angelie continued to run tests on Numbuh 362. In between the testing she would snoop around some of the old documents. This time she noticed something odd, a small filing cabinet covered with dust tucked away in the corner of the room. Carefully wiping it off, she examined its contents. The cabinet contained old out of date documents kept by the former leader of Sector X. The former leader was apparently very thorough with their documentations as most of them were about fellow operatives who aided and or visited Sector X during the time of his/her leadership. One folder however, caught Angelie's eye titled "Operative #0362 - Rachel T. McKenzie". She began to skim through the documents inside when she noticed something peculiar. It was a form containing some personal information as well as a detailed list of completed missions. She began reading it aloud to herself:

_Rachel T. McKenzie_

_Cadet #0362_

_Age: 8_

_DOB: August 1st, 1990_

_Unit: Medical Assistance _

_'August 1st, 1990' _She mumbled again to herself. _'Wasn't today the first of August? And considering the year she was born in...' _It hit her like a ton of bricks. Today was Numbuh 362's thirteenth birthday. Her body froze, clenching the documents tightly in her first. The girl laying unconscious before her, was a teenager. A rouge Kids Next Door operative on the run from decommissioning. What would she do now? How would she explain this series of unfortunate events to Ted and Charles? All she could do was remain silent, and periodically glance at her former Supreme Leader. Ted and Charles eventually returned to see Angelie sitting in a chair beside her. She wore a blank expression and hardly noticed them entering the room, or even being there for that matter.

"Hey Angelie, we were able to contact someone on the Moon Base's emergency channel." Ted said attempting to keep the nervousness out of his voice.

"Yeah, turns out the Chief of Decommissioning herself received our transmission and is on her way to us as we speak." She remained silent. Ted waved a hand repeatedly in front of her face but she didn't even flinch.

"Hey big guy, I think somethin's wrong with the boss."

"Angelie, are you alright?" Her silence continued before suddenly standing up and shoving a bunch of documents in their faces. With this, she slammed the door of the infirmary behind her. Ted and Charles exchanged confused looks before looking at the papers.

"Whoa! These are files on the Supreme Leader! Where did Angelie get these from?"

"No clue, but take a look at this one." Charles handed Ted the form containing Numbuh 362's personal information. Ted quickly glanced over it in amazement.

"She used to be a part of the Med Unit? I would never expected that..."

"That's not all, take a look at her DOB."

"August 1st, 1990. Hey...isn't today the first of August? And according to this document that means she'd be..."

"A teenager? That's right." The two boys were silent once again. They now understood why Angelie reacted the way she did. An already terrible situation was now made worse, and to top it all of the Chief of Decommissioning herself was on her way there. Ted pulled up a chair beside the gatch bed and gestured Charles to join him.

"After all you've done for us...why would you run? I thought you were a girl of honor and tradition..." There were traces of sadness in the hefty boys voice. He admired her greatly and finding out the truth was almost enough to break his respect, almost.

"She left because of me." A voice said. The two boys turned around to see the Chief of Decommissioning standing in the doorway, slightly out of breath.

"Numbuh 86? What do you mean she left because of you."

"I let her escape. I couldn't bring myself to decommission her." She pulled up a chair on the opposite side of the gatch bed and observed the unconscious girl. Somehow, even in her battered state, she still appeared beautiful. Fanny felt herself starting to blush the longer she looked. Ted was still having a hard time understanding, Charles smiled and nodded.

"I still don't get it."

"It's simple Ted. Fanny has an undeniable love for her former leader, and thus cannot bring herself to decommission her as heartbreak would ensue." Both Ted and Fanny looked at Charles in shock. The boy could be quite observant when the situation called for it. Meanwhile, a shadowy figure kept its distance from the doorway listening in, a tape recorder in its hand.

_Click._

"I don't know what yer talkin' about."

"Oh come on now Fanny, just admit it. We won't judge you, if that's what you're afraid of." The redhead thought for a moment. They were boys after all, how could she know they were trustworthy? _  
_

"Ah alright, I'll come clean. Numbuh 34 is right, I'm in love with her. I let her escape to protect her, but I never expected this to happen." She took off her helmet and placed it beneath Rachel's arms. "Besides, I doubt someone like her could ever return these kinds of feelings."

"I don't know Chief, I think Rachel is quite fond of you." Charles began to rock back and forth in his seat. Though he had only been to the Moon Base a few times to visit a good friend of his, he would sometimes catch the two girls interactions with each other.

"What makes yah say that?"

"Just a hunch. We're glad you're here though. After all, I'm sure the one person Rachel wants to see the most when she wakes up is you." She felt her cheeks turn red. The three sat quietly for a time, watching over the motionless Rachel. Soon Angelie joined the group, pulling a chair up beside Fanny. She plopped herself down, letting out a long heavy-winded sigh.

"Oh boss, you finally decided to join us."

"Make no mistake Ted, this girl is a teenager now. I refuse to look after a traitor." The tone of the darker girls voice caused Fanny to grit her teeth. Sure, Rachel was a teenager now, but the chances of her becoming an undercover teen operative were extremely high. She couldn't understand Angelie's anger and distress. Did she look up to Rachel as an idol? Or maybe she was just as loyal to the Kids Next Door as her, always following the rules no matter what the situation. Maybe there was something more to the darker girls uneasy disposition. Speaking of the rules, Fanny was beginning to become pretty tired of them.

"Yah know Numbuh 78, she may be a teenager now, but she's still our friend."

"Yeah come on Angelie, have a bit of sympathy. I mean just look at her." Rachel's body suddenly began to twitch. She rolled over and was now facing the two girls, one of her hands gently falling on top of Fanny's. Ted chuckled nervously while Charles grinned to himself.

"I'm with Ted on this one. I see no harm in interacting with her." Angelie looked at the two boys, completely dumbfounded. Had they forgotten the rules too? She felt like everyone around her had completely lost their minds today.

"Y'know something just occurred to me." Ted began, fiddling with his gloves. "If Numbuh 362 isn't Numbuh 362 anymore, than whose the new Supreme Leader?" All eyes were on Fanny now. She felt her anxiety begin to act up.

"That would be me." She said a bit nervously. "It's only temporary however. I had no choice but to take the responsibility, especially after what I did." Fanny thought to herself, about how Numbuh 5 was really running the show now and not her. She couldn't let the others know that just yet, for fear that everyone would be in even more danger. A wave of uneasiness suddenly crept over her body, she clenched her stomach as she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. _'What was that? A shadow...?' _ She shook her head. Everyone was silent again. Eventually Angelie's bitterness of the situation got the better of her, making her exit overly-dramatic.

"I apologize once again for the boss's attitude Numbuh 86."

"It's no problem at all Numbuh 42. Let her go, she needs some time to herself."

"Well, what do we do with Rachel now? Angelie refuses to look after her any further. Hey Chief, why don't you look after her?" Fanny felt herself turning red again."Weren't you apart of the Med Unit at one point? You should have no problem making sure she's okay." Fanny looked over at the hefty boy, in shock. How did he know she was a part of the Med Unit?

"Uh yah, I can look after her. I mean of course I can."

"If you need anything the big guy and I will be over in the lounge area." With that the two boys showed themselves out. The room began to gradually grow darker as the sun set. Soon, everything around her became silhouetted in shadow. The fluorescent light above her twitched from time to time, giving the room an overall creepy feeling. She wasn't going anywhere, not until she knew Rachel was going to be okay. Things were getting worse as the situation became even more dire. _'The Moon Base must be a complete nightmare...'_ she thought to herself. Hopefully Numbuh 5 was doing okay. After awhile, her eyelids became heavy and she soon found herself dozing off beside the gatch bed.

* * *

The sun peered through the curtains of her room, casting a small square of light over her face. The girl stirred slightly, turning over to her other side. Her mother entered the room and opened the curtains, letting the sun flourish over the room. _'Francine...'_ Her mother whispered. _'Francine...Francine honey it's time to wake up...' _

The girl tossed over again, and mumbled to herself. "Just five more minutes mum..."she groaned. Her mother was growing impatient.

"If you don't get up sweetheart you'll be late for the annual science fair today." That's right! Today was Gallagher Elementary's 25th annual science fair. She had been working hard on a project for extra credit and decided it was good enough to be in the fair, which was titled _"Mind Over Matter: Why girls are superior to boys." _ She quickly dressed herself and made her way downstairs. She was greeted by her cat Ozzie, who was meowing furiously. She gently patted the felines head and took a seat at the kitchen table. Her father sat on the other side reading the morning paper, cigar in hand.

"Morning Fanny, sleep okay?" His voice was gravelly. He was a business man, who clearly had a stressful job as he was slowly going bald. Despite his appearance, he loved his kids.

"Sure pop." Her mother placed breakfast in front of her. '_Bacon and eggs again?'_ she thought to herself with a sigh.

"Oh sweetie I almost forgot. Hoagie called, he wanted to you meet him at his house before the science fair. He said he had something to show you." Fanny groaned to herself. _'He's probably got some new and completely useless invention that he's going to flaunt all over the science fair. Wonderful.' _ She scarfed down the rest of breakfast and bolted out the door, project in hand.

As she approached Hoagie's house, she could see the masked boy in his garage working on something that looked like a giant crank. He noticed her and waved with a smile. She waved back, rolling her eyes.

"'Morning Frankie, how's it going?" he said nonchalantly. She hated when he called her that. "Check it out! It's the final part of my project that's going to revolutionize the way we travel. I'm sure to win the science fair this year with this baby." The redhead giggled to herself. Hoagie was always good for a laugh.

"Right, and I suppose that crank is going to let us do that?" The boy snorted as he laughed at her words, his goggles coming slightly loose.

"No you silly girl, my project is already at school. I just needed some help getting this thing onto my aircraft. It's heavy." Fanny rolled her eyes and helped him lift the crank-like object."I'll meet ya at school, thanks for the help sweetheart!" he hopped into his vehicle and took off.

"I told yah not to call me that!" She said shaking her fist angrily at the sky.

The science fair was fairly crowded this year. Booths were set up on all sides of the cafeteria, forming a large square. Fanny's booth was ironically stationed next to Hoagie's. When she arrived she could see he was still setting up. She placed her project on the table along with a few misc items to further prove her theories. The fair was set to start officially at 11am, it was five minutes before and the other kids could be seen putting the final touches on their presentations. Soon a voice came could be heard throughout the cafeteria that signaled the start of the fair. The doors of cafeteria swung open as hundreds of kids rushed in to see the projects. A crowd began to gather near Hoagie's booth as Fanny watched him gloat about his invention.

"My fellow nerds and scientists, I present to you a new way to travel! Behold, the 'Telepod!'' Ooh's and ahh's could be heard from the group. Fanny rolled her eyes, _'This is going to be one long afternoon.'_ she thought. Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted, out of the corner of her eye she spotted a girl. She had short blonde hair and deep brown eyes. She had managed to wedge herself between the nerds and scientists to the front of the group. Things were beginning to get a little more interesting.

"So Hoagie, how does this contraption work?" Fanny shouted from across the group, they all turned to her and then back to him.

"Good question Francine! If you'd all allow me to kindly demonstrate." he took off his aviator cap and placed it in the center of the Telepod. He entered a sequence into the computer that controlled the device and began to turn the crank. Soon the chamber started to flash and light up. His aviator cap slowly began to disappear and then re-materialize on the other pod beside it. "Behold! Teleportation!" The group of kids began to cheer wildly. Fanny's eyes widened at the spectacle, but she wasn't fully convinced.

"Now try it with a person!" She shouted to him. Hoagie adjusted his goggles and grinned.

"You got it babe!" Hoagie scanned the crowd of kids until his eyes landed upon a girl with short blonde hair. "You there, feeling brave today?" he said pointing to her. The blonde pointed to herself and Hoagie nodded back at her. She stepped up onto the Telepod nervously.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Rachel." The blonde said with a small smile. Fanny watched her standing there, grinning to herself. She knew Hoagie well enough to figure out that this was going to be a complete disaster.

"I shall now make the lovely Ms. Rachel disappear, and reappear!" He reentered the sequence and began to turn the crank again. Everything seemed fine, but suddenly the machine began to malfunction. Flashes of electricity scattered back and forth between the two pods. The crowd of kids backed away slowly as the girl began to slowly disappear. A giant distortion appeared behind her as she vanished, leaving nothing behind. Hoagie rose slowly to his feet, and the crowd of kids began to whisper among themselves.

"See I told yah it wouldn't work!" Fanny said as she laughed to herself.

"How can this be! I made sure nothing could go wrong!" He shook his head as the crowd of kids soon dispersed. Fanny joined him next to his device.

"So Einstein, where'd she go?" Hoagie was speechless. Something didn't add up, how could she have just disappeared like that?

"I don't know Francine..." Fanny's expression suddenly became very stern. She grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt.

"What do yah mean yah don't know?!" She growled through her teeth. Hoagie couldn't look her in the eyes. She let go of his collar, causing him to hit the ground with a thud.

"What I want to know is, why did a wormhole distortion open behind her? Maybe if we can make it happen again you could go after her."

"What? You're the one that made her vanish into thin air. You go after her!"

"C'mon now Fanny, just be the hero." The redhead let out sigh.

"Fine, I'll go. But don't expect me to save the world or something." Hoagie gestured her into the chamber as he entered the sequence. He turned the crank once more as sparks began to fly out of the Telepod. Once again the wormhole appeared and Fanny was dragged into it.

"I'll catch up to you soon!" Hoagie shouted as his friend vanished before him. The science fair was just about to end as the judges presented him with the first place medal.

* * *

The shadowy figure slowly made its way to the door of the infirmary. It peered through to see the two girls asleep. Carefully, it snuck past them without making a sound. A door labeled 78 was open slightly and the shadow crept inside. There lay Angelie in her bed, lost in thought. The shadow quickly approached her and then vanished before she even realized what happened. _'What was that?'_ She sat up suddenly to find a note laying at frame of her bed. Curious, she opened it.

_"I can make you the new Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door, and see to it that the traitor Rachel McKenzie is dealt with...permanently. _

_Use this manipulate her little redheaded friend._

_If revenge is what you seek, meet me at The Point tomorrow night. I'll be waiting for you."_

Taped to the back of the letter was a tape recorder. Angelie reluctantly pressed play. The first voice she noticed was Ted's and then Charles'. She listened carefully as soon Fanny's voice could be recognized.

_"I don't know what yer talkin' about."_

_"Oh come on now Fanny, just admit it. We won't judge you, if that's what you're afraid of."_

_"Ah alright, I'll come clean. Numbuh 34 is right, I'm in love with her. I let her escape to protect her, but I never expected this to happen."_

Angelie grinned to herself as she stopped the recording, a plan forming in her mind. She was going to meet that stranger at The Point, and she was going to make sure no one stopped her.

* * *

**A/N: Bonus points to anyone who can guess what Fanny's dream is a parody of.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I had a blast writing it.**

**Cheers for Sector X making an appearance! Writing Ted and Charles was way too fun. See you in Chapter 3, and as always - R&R :)**


End file.
